Black Queenz

Ch. 9-Black Queenz

***Ra***

We would be finishing with the month of August on Tuesday. Me and Osiris' senior year had started and it'd been okay so far. I didn't know anyone really, but the fact that I was friends with Fly, Bobby, and Osiris seemed to change some things.

Every time I told someone that Osiris was my best friend, their face would change. Either they'd look suddenly unfriendly or suddenly amused. Either way, my only friends ended up being girls who were already members of the Black Queenz or some innocent girls from my AP classes who didn't know anything about gangs or rivalries.

The best thing about going to school with Osiris was that we had AP English together and she'd walk me to class with her arm around me. At first I was scared that we'd look sus and everyone would know, but she just said that she wished someone would say something slick about it. It was nice to have that level of affection from her, but I still found myself wanting to come out. I wanted to yell from the rooftops that she was all mine and I was hers, but I knew I couldn't do that. The main complication was her new role in the Black Royalty Syndicate.

Right before we went back to school, Osiris disappeared with Fly and Bobby to go talk to her dad about BRS business, and when she came back, she simply told me that she had to start taking a real leadership role for the Black Queenz. I wanted to be the supportive girlfriend, but I didn't like how involved she had to be. In just a month, it went from phone calls she would take in the other room to leaving unexpectedly more often to having full-blown meetings at her house and making me stay away from them. It would've been enough to drive any regular girl away, but I knew Osiris and I knew what it was like in East JP. If she didn't do her job within Black Royalty, she had nowhere else to go.

Osiris was driving us home from school on a Friday night. I was wrapped up in a book by Toni Morrison, and she was listening to an old album by Queen Latifah and rapping along. When we stopped at a light, she glanced over at me, but I was already stealing a peek at her, too.

"How's your book, beautiful?" she asked, trying to spark a little conversation.

"It's dark, but she's always dark. How's Black Reign for you?" I asked, wanting to find a reason to talk, too.

"It's pretty good. Even better now that I've heard it seven times." She grinned at me, and I grinned back like a fool. We'd been together going on three months, but Osiris could still make me giddy and shy like it was the first time we'd met. She was my weakness.

"Do you have a lotta homework tonight, baby?"

"No, just a little bit of reading we have to do in AP English. Why do you ask, Ra?"

"I was thinking," I answered mischievously, "I'd like it if we had a little bit of alone time tonight. Tanya leaves for work at four and my dad won't get home until almost eight. It's been a while since you been busy with work."

"I'd love to, Rashaa, I really would, but I have a meeting tonight. It's the end of the month and I gotta run some numbers, distribute cash, count up the supply, and all that stuff. Dewan's been on the street lately, so he's not really helping with the managerial duties much anymore."

I sighed heavily and bobbed my head up and down. Of course she'd be busy with that again. Wasn't she busy with it every day? I thought it was amazing that she just had time to sleep and do homework with all the things BRS needed from her. In all honesty, I wanted to not be another time- and energy-consuming thing for her, but I really really wanted some alone time again. We only needed an hour or two and I wouldn't ask again for a month.

She parked in front of my house, and I started to get out. Before I went into the house, I walked around the car and leaned in to say, "Have fun at your meeting, I guess. Call me when it's over. I love you, Osiris."